Chillin on Ko Chang

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After waking up early, and eating some muesli (granola), fruit, and yogurt, I got onto the bus bound for Ko Chang. We drove around in circles in the Khaosan area for almost an hour, finally picking up some straggler backpackers. The bus ride to Koh Chang was fairly uneventful. I relaxed on the 6 hour journey by listening to my ipod and checking out hte passing scenery. I have been enjoying the variety of cool music on my ipod, containing mostly songs that were recommended to me by friends. Lots of oldies, and some new age techno as well, a good mix. When we finally got to the pier in Trang, which is the pushoff point to the island of Ko Chang, we waited for a bit for our tongtheau truck to take us the next 200 meters or so to the ferry.

I had read that Koh Chang is Thailands second biggest island, and as we approached the island I was struck by both its size, and the range of mountains in the center. The side of the island we were facing looked undeveloped, and only a few radio towers dotted the dense green foiliage. I looked forward to some exploration. As we docked, the normal chaos ensured, and I found myself on the first Thongseau (truck with seats in the back , covered, box), and they asked me where I was headed. I had prebooked a bungalow, hearing that places on Ko Chang fill up quick. Finally, I was able to explain where I was going and realized it was at the very furthest tip of the island, near the main pier that is the pushoff point to nearby island and snorkeling tours.

The drive to the pier was a longer journey, one that took us through all the scenic little beach towns, and over Ko Changs hilly terrain. I had some interesting conversations with some fellow backpackers as well. One guy, who had been living in China, had recently been to Burma and had some interesting things to say about it. For one, he said it was overall very charming, safe, and that the sights were interesting. He also said that he was invited into several different homes of locals, and that in one home they had a framed picture of Hillary Clinton...

Of the 6+ of us on the bus, most of the others were dropped off at or before lonely beach, but I went to Bang Bao, the pier area. As I went on alone, I had a feeling that Bang Bao would be something different. From Bang Bao I had a 10 minute walk through backyards and swampy green waters, past a bridge with two random dogs on it, and onward to my bungalows.

Its at this point in my trip that I decided I will not book a room online again. The bungalows were basic, to say the least. They had no toilets, which is fine, but they were dilapidated with holes in the walls, crappy steps, and a fan that had to sit on a stool next to the bed. The bathroom was a few minutes away, but you had to walk down a flight of 20+ steps to get to it. Yet, the owner was very nice and was the staff too, but the food was expensive, and the seclusion, which was the apparent charm of the place, wasn't really what I was looking for. Because of this, I went to bed relatively early for the two nights I stayed, and took it pretty easy at night. However, on the second day on the island I went on a snorkeling tour.

I was picked up at the guesthouse and brought to the pier, then I was escortd by another Thai gentleman down to the boat. It happened to be at the end of the pier, and we passed under a i00 meters of stalls, restaurants, and the ocean below to get there. The boat crew was awesome, always monkying around on the boat and having a blast. The weather was sunny, clear, and hot. I listened to my ipod as we cruised out to the first snorkeling spot, and just really enjoyed the peaceful ride. The snorkeling itself was okay, but it took some real exploration to find some interesting fish. I saw a parrot fish, which had vibrant colors , and I enjoyed following a school of ground feeding fish. After snorkeling we had a lunch, consisting of pad Thai, green curry, and omelet's, and it was probably one of the better meals I have had on my trip. The remaining of the time we spent relaxing on a couple different beaches, and doing a another snorkel, though I opted out of the second one as I was already badly burnt.

I thought one of the most bizarre things was the types of photos the other tourists on this trip were taking. So many people posing on the beaches like they were some sort of super models, it was quite hilarious. Unfortunately, as we came back into the pier I realized something: I should not swim underwater. Due to my snorkeling, my ears had become completely clogged, and remained so for several days afterwards. By clogged I mean you had to be within 2-3 feet for me to even be able to hear you. This problem crept up multiple times over the next week, as I went swimming again a few days later. Though, I must say, when they finally did clear it was one of the most exhilarating experiences I have had.

Finally, after the day of snorkeling, and a rest in my crappy bungalow I went over to Lonely Beach. Apparently the town doesn't wake up until 11am or later, and there only one bungalow where someone actually asked me to come look at their rooms. It was nice, and for only 300 baht it had its own toilet, and a little hammock out front. I would later realize that this was not directly on lonely beach, but this turned out to be a blessing as things could get pretty noisy late at night on the actual beach.

Since it was still early in the day I unloaded my bags and rented a motorcycle to explore the island for the rest of the day. I rented my bike from one of the guys at the guesthouse, and he made sure I had a helmet, a nice beautiful pink one. They asked me if I had rode a scooter before and I said yes, then proceeded to ask them how to start the bike, and also how to open the seat compartment. They looked a little skeptical as I took off down the dirt road.

I spent the entire day touring the island. I went to a part of the island called White Sands Beach. It was really nice with, you guessed it, white sand. I went for a swim, but kept it brief because of the burn I had earned the day before. I had lunch at a road side Thai restaurant, then made my way up to the "waterfall". The waterfall turned out to be a trickling stream due to the lack of rain in recent weeks. It was a nice hike though, and I chatted up some travels along the way. I spent the next few hours driving around this hilly island. I went end to end, and it took up the majority of the day. I loved driving through the rubber tree plantations. They harvest rubber trees by placing a little cup on them, and cutting grooves in the tree that drain the sap into the cups. I ended up going all the way to a place called long beach. It was probably the worst road I have ever been on in all my scooter driving experience. In fact, in one area a sign read "the road has problem". Indeed, a small problem being that it was completely collapsed. Long beach itself was amazing. Such a chilled out paradise, and I considered coming back to spend a few days, but it was really so far out, on such a bad road that I never followed through with this idea. Instead, I returned back to Lonely Beach, once again enjoying the scenery on my way back.

With my ears majorly clogged I spent that night, and the following days, mostly by myself either reading, listening to music, or walking around the small town just taking in the atmosphere. A day or two in my ears finally cleared, but then I had to push my luck and go swimming again just to re-clog them. Lonely Beach was quite nice. It seemed there was always some sort of drink special or food special going on each night, usually a free BBQ of some sort. On my last night I actually went out and had a free BBQ, a gigantic fish and some fresh salad. Another night I hung out with this Frenchman, and some Australians we met and just took it easy having a few beers on some chairs on the side of the road. Most of my indulging came from food though, and I had many a delicious Thai dish, enjoying some fine noodle soup and banana pancakes whenever I could. One might think with all the heat, and walking, that you would lose some pounds. But, when a meal costs you l.25 its hard to not eat whenever you see something delicious.

My room this time was much nicer, and I had a better experience. The only exception was on the first night when I came back to my bungalow and realized the entire outside had been overrun with ants. And I mean overrun, like hundreds upon hundreds. I panicked, and bug sprayed the entire army. I also had a mishap with my hammock, peacefully swaying and relaxing until it broke and I came crashing down to the wooden porch.

On one of the last nights I went out for dinner at the Ting Tong bare (Ting Tong means crazy in Thailand). The food was good and the music was amazing. They had a Thai reggae band playing. They played all the bob marley classics, and some other Thai reggae songs, one which was been stuck in my head for weeks. Listening to these guys, who were articulate and knew the words to the songs was a nice change of pace from the guys who sing on Khao San Road. On Khao San you get guys who can play the guitar, but who just butcher songs, just making up lyrics as they go along.

So yeah, overall I had a nice relaxing week in Koh Chang, but by the end of it I decided I should try to see and do more for the remainder of my trip. So I said goodbye to the island and made my way back to Bangkok.

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Comments

[G-Ma]

Apparently you lost your sunscreen.and they do have earplugs That road with the sign looks pretty
scary, some nice pictures though. Be safe